Staff Report
Sylvia Swayze, Smith assistant principal, announced her resignation April 21.
Swayze's resignation was effective April 28, when she took on a new post at American Express in Greensboro.
"God has a new purpose for me and has opened another door for me to step through," she said in her BLS office. "It was a difficult decision, but it was one I had to make for myself and my family. It is unfortunate that I will not be here to help with the end of the school year, especially graduation."
Principal Barry Williams praised Swayze for her ability to relate to students.
"Mrs. Swayze demonstrated a genuine interest in helping students improve their grades and behavior," Williams said. "She often talked with students and suggested strategies that would help them resolve conflicts, develop goals and improve their attendance."
Williams said that there would be no immediate replacement for Swayze.
"Her position will not be filled until this summer," he said. "The present administration will assume the majority of her responsibilities. Mrs. Swayze will complete a few end-of-year reports in June."
Sawyze has been in education off and on throughout her adult life. At American Express she will oversee 11 instructors who teach new employees.
"Basically, I will still be in education, only with a new employer," she said.
Swayze, the daughter of an Army officer, was born in Santa Barbara, Calif., but moved to Roxboro before she was 1-year-old. After a year in Roxboro, she moved to East Orange, N.J. That's where she grew up.
"I spent my summers in North Carolina on a tobacco farm," Swayze said. "Both my mother and father's family are from Person County, and I had to work on their farms when school was out for the summer."
After she graduated from East Orange High School, she attended Rutgers and received her bachelor of science degree in Education with an emphasis in Home and Family Life.
She taught sixth-grade Home Economics in Scotch Plains, N.J., before working sales for a textbook publishing firm in New York City.
Then she moved to Seattle, where she met her husband, Jim Swayze. She received her master's in Education from the University of Puget Sound and returned to education.
Williams will long remember Swayze's ability to be both firm and fair.
The Swayzes came to Greensboro in October of 1994. She has been an assistant principal at BLS the last two years.
"Mrs. Swayze would often say to students, 'But this is unacceptable,' " Williams said. "This statement was made when she observed students not being or doing their best."
Staff writer Tramaine Brown contributed to this story.
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